Bed mb conditioner



Aug. 28, 1934.

F. A. WHITELEY BED AIR CONDITIONER Filed July 25, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Inven'l'on a n r h o t Au) t. BMW

h ///V/////// l/l/l/ l/ll/l/f Q Patented Aug. 28, 1934 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE My invention relates to bed air-conditioners and has forits object to provide an air-conditioner to be applied to a bed and togive to an enclosed portion of theroom immediately above the bed asupply of air conditioned by being properly cooled and washed and freedfrom dust and germs.

Many means have been proposed for conditioning the air in whole roomsand in" buildings, but at night or at any other time when a person isconfined to a bed the purpose of conditioning the air of whole rooms maybe served by conditioning the air in which the person lies above thebed, and it is the purpose of my invention to condition such air, andthat only, and to provide simple, efficient and economical meansadaptable to be applied to any bed whereby air-conditioning may becheaply effected for the area above the bed, while at the same time thesleeper is fully safe-guarded against any possibility of poisoning orlack of suflicient air for breathing. To this end I provide aconditioner casing, which em.- bodies passageway channels extendingvertically up and down within said casing, at a point immediatelyalongside of the bed, with means. for forcing air to travel through saidpassageways and to discharge therefrom, together with means for forcinga spray of water into each of said passageways, and providing a chamberof insulating material which encloses a suflicient area immediatelyabove the bed with a suitable opening in the top above the face of thesleeper. The conditioned air is caused to flow into this chamber at thefoot of the bed and to be delivered across the bed immediately abovethemattress and the sleeper thereon, whence the warmer air within thechamber will be pressed out through the opening in the top and thecooler, conditioned air spread over the lower portion of the chamberabove the mattress where the sleeper lies to give him cooled, washed and(in humid weather) dried air. The flow of air is such that a constantsupply of fresh conditioned air reaches the sleeper, said air beingfreed from dust and various types of germs so that, in addition to thecomfort of being able to sleep in a pure, cool atmosphere, sufferersfrom many typesof disease, such-as hay fever, will be very greatlyrelieved.

The use of my invention gives to asleeper '50 during the night-time allthe advantages of cooled,

,' conditioned air at a small fraction of the cost of conditioning theair in entire rooms. In very warm'regions this will add enormously tohealth and well-being, since it will be possible to sleep at night inanatmosphere reduced to a desired temperature-say E, which will relievethe pressure of living in a continuously hot climate, so serious anddetrimental to general health and well-being.

The full objects and advantages of my inven-' 00 tion will appear inconnection with the detailed description thereof, and the novel featuresof my inventive idea are particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, illustrating my inve tion in one form, l i

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal-elevation view taken on line 1 --1 of Fig. 3 ofthe conditioner chamber as the same will be applied toa bed of commonconstruction. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation simi- '10 lar to Fig. 1taken on line 2-.-2 of Fig. 3. Fig.3

is a transverse sectional elevation taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 viewedin the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings, a casing formed of side walls 10 and 11,end walls'g12 andl3, top wall 14 and bottom wall 15 forms a chamber 16which in practice will extend along the side of a bed a distance equalto the length of the mattress, will be some six inches deep and of aheight suflicient to extend to a point about three feet above thesurface of the mattress.

As shown in Fig. 1, the floor 15 slopes slightly to a point where itjoins with a short vertical wall 17 and continues with a bottom wallportion 18 which forms a sump or well 19 where the water hereinafterreferred to collects after being carried down on the sloping bottom 15.A multiplicity' of partition walls 20 extend upwardly from the bottomwall 15 to points approaching but separated from the top wall 14, asindicated at 21. Thesepartitions 20 are secured to the bottom wall 15but are provided with small drainage openings 22 for permitting thewater which falls to the floor 15 to pass through to the sump 19.Similarly a multiplicity of partition walls 23 are connected to the top"wall 14 and spaced at their lower ends from the bottom wall 15 asindicated at 24. The partitions 23 alternate withthe partitions 20whereby a series of ver- 1 tical passageways connected respectively attop and bottom in succession carry air to the drying passageway 25wherein are a multiplicity of bailles 26 positioned in staggeredrelation so as to catch and retain any free water which may 10:; passinto the passageway 25. A vertical partition 27 closes the. rear end ofpassageway'25 and extends downwardly to a point indicated at 28 belowthe surface of the water in the sump 19. i A blower and attached motor29, of usual 110 construction, is mounted upon the top 14, as clearlyshown, for forcing air from the room into the first of the verticalpassageways from which the air passes through the elongated upand-downwashing passageway and through opening in side wall 11 into the chamberhereinafter described above the mattress of the bed. To condition theair as it passes through the various vertical passageways, I provide alongitudinal spray pipe 31 to which water under pressure is delivered bya rotary pump 32 of any well-known construction operated by motor 33.The water to the pump 32 is drawn through a pipe 34 which dips into thewater within a strainer 64 in the sump 19. When the pump 32 is inoperation, therefore, a spray of water is continually delivered to all,of the vertical passageways except the drying passageway 25, and the airin being driven through these passageways and through the deliveryopening 30 is cooled by evaporation of this water and is freed of allgerms, dust and impurities, being delivered into the chamber above thebed properly conditioned. A manually-operated switch 35 at the head ofthe bed controls the operation of the motor of blower 29 and the motor33 of the pump, the two motors being normally on a common circuit sothat when one is operated the other is. It may be desirable, however, topass the circuit for the pump through a switch box 36 controlled by athermostat 37 within the sleeping chamber above the bed. and close tothe head of the sleeper, so that when the temperature falls to a certaindesired point the pump willbe thrown out of operation and excessivecooling will be avoided.

It will be noted that with the circulation of water herein provided thewater itself will become progressively cooler until it reaches thetemperature of the air being delivered, which insures efficientoperation. Water is supplied to take the place of that evaporated andpassed out of the system by means of a tank 38, which may be withdrawnfor filling through an opening closed by a closure 39 in the end wall12. The tank 38 is provided with a single opening 40 and-willbepositioned as indicated in Fig. 1

upon a supporting partition 41 with a nozzle openingdipping down to thewater line in the well '19, so that as water is taken away by evapo-,

ration fresh water will be added from time to time only sumcient tomaintain the water level in the sump 19 so as to cover and seal theopening 40 inthe tank 38.

Removably secured to the end walls 13, 14 of the air-conditioner casingare end extension walls 42 and 43 which are preferably formed of lightinsulating material such as the plaster boards of well-knownconstruction, and which will be coatedto render them waterproof. Theseend extensions are secured to frames, preferably of angle iron, whichare bolted to side anglepieces on the casing, as shown. The top member44, also formed with a surrounding frame; is bolted to the angle ironframe member on the casing and tothe side members 42 and 43 as shown.

A front member 45 similarly formed with an angle iron frame is bolted tothe side members 42 and 43 and to the top member 44. as shown. The frontmember 45 is provided with a door 46 adapted to swing up and lie uponthe top member 44, giving access tothe interior of thechamber formed'bythe casing and by the end members 42 and 43, top member 44 and frontmember 45. The head position of the weareror the pillow is indicateddiagrammatically in Fig. 2 at 47. I Immediately above this position thetop member 44 is provided with an opening 48 which extends substantiallyacross the top of the chamber, as shown in Fig. 3. Hingedly secured tothe top member 44 is a baffle 49 which when the top member is inposition hangs vertically adjacent the opening 30 into the chamber abovethe bed.

Cross members 50 may extend outwardly from the side casing to givesupport to the casing to oifset the downward thrust of the overhangingportions forming the bed-enclosing chamber. The mattress 51 is indicatedas resting upon a spring 52 of well-known construction mounted upon abed 53 also of ordinary construction. At the bottoms of theside pieces42' and 43 are flaps 54 and 55 of some close woven or rubberizedmaterial. A similar flap 56 is attached to the wall 11 of the casing anda flap 57 to the bottom of the front member 45.

In assembling the devicethe casing is pushed against one side of the bedand the flap 56 thrown over the spring. The side members 42 and 43 areinserted past the ends of the mattress and inside of the bed ends, asshown in Fig. 2, and flaps 54 and 55 are thrown on to the spring ortucked under the mattress. Similarly the front fiap 57 is tucked underthe mattress. The door 46 is thrown up over the top, and through theopening provided the bed is made in the usual way. When the sleeper orsleepers wish to retire they enter the chamber above the bed through thedoor 46, which is locked in closing position by means of catches 58 and59 secured to the end members 42 and 43 and taking into keepers 60 and61 on the inside of the door 46.

Then, by means of the switch 35 the air-conditioning instrumentalitiesare set in operation. In this manner the temperature is gradually lowendand possible injury from going immediately from a warm temperature to a0001 one is avoided. Where the thermostat 37 is employed the temperaturewithin the chamber will be maintained at substantially a fixed degree byreason of the fact that when it reaches a desired minimum the operationof the thermostat will throw the water spray out of operation, whichwill permit air to fiowthrough without cooling until the temperaturewithin the chamber rises. so that the thermostat acts to start the pumpagain and continue the lowering of the temperature.

I claim:

1. An air-conditioner for beds comprising a conditioning casing adaptedto be positioned alongside of the bed and form a wall of a chamber abovethe bed, end wall, top and outside .side members supported from the saidconditioner casing above and about the mattress of the bed, meanscarried by said walls for insertion beneath the mattress around. thesides thereof so that the mattress becomes the bottom wall of thechamber, an opening to the room from said chamber, and means to move airthrough the conditioner casing into the lower end of said chamber andcause it to discharge through said opening. v

c 2. An air-conditioner for beds comprising a conditioning casingadapted to be positioned alongside of the bed and form a wall of achamber I of the chamber to open and close the same and 150 through theconditioner casing into the lower end of said casing and cause it todischarge through said opening.

3, An air-conditioner for beds comprising a conditioning casing adaptedto be positioned alongside of the bed and form a wall of a chamber abovethe bed, end wall, top and outside side members supported from the saidconditioner casing aboveand about the mattress of the-bed to form withsaid mattress as the bottom wall thereof said chamber, a'door formed inthe outside side wall of said chamber and hingedly connected to the topso as to be adapted to be swung up on the top to give access to the bed,an opening to the room from said chamber, and means to move air throughthe conditioner casing into the lower end of said chamber and to causeit to discharge through said opening.

4. An air conditioner for beds comprising an insulated casing above thebed forming a chamber having the mattress as its bottom wall, saidchamber having an opening at the pillow end, a second casing, means tomove air from the room through the second casing and into the chamberadjacent the foot thereof and thence through said opening, and meansincluding a'pipe and a pump to spray water into said second casing,whereby the air will be washed and cooled as it is moved therethrough.

5. An air conditioner for beds comprising an insulated casing above thebed forming a chamber having the mattress as its bottom well, saidchamber having an opening at the pillow end, a second casing, means tomove air from the room through the second casing and into the chamberadjacent the foot thereof and thence through said opening, a sprayingsystem including a pump and a well in the second casing for forming aspray of waterin said second casing, whereby theair is washed and cooledas it is moved therethrough, and means in the second casing forsupplying water to said well to maintain it at a fixed level.

6. An air conditioner for beds comprising an insulated casing above thebed forming a chamber having the mattress as its bottom wall. saidchamber having an opening at the pillow end, a second casing, means tomove air from the room through the second casing and into the chamberadjacent the foot thereof and thence through said opening, a sprayingsystem including a pump and a well in the second casing for forming aspray of water in said second casing, whereby the air is washed andcooled as it is moved therethrough, and means for returning the excesswater from said spray to said well. 7

7. An air conditioner for beds comprising an insulated casing above thebed forming a chamber having the mattress as its bottom wall, saidchamber having an opening at the pillow end, a second casing, means tomove air from the room through thesecond casing and into the chamberadjacent the foot thereof and thence through said opening, a sprayingsystem including a pump and a well in the second casing for forming aspray of water in said second casing, whereby the air is washed andcooled as it is moved therethrough,

means in said second casing for supplying water to said well to maintainit at a fixed level, and means for returning excess water from saidspray to said well. a

8. An air-conditioner for beds comprising an elongated high casing, aninsulated casing suphaving the mattress' as its bottom wall and thefirst named casing as a side wall, with an open ing from said chamber inthe top abovethe head end thereof, an elongated passageway formed insaid first named casing by a multiplicity of vertical partitionsalternately spaced from the top and bottom of the casing, means in saidfirst named casing including a pipe and a pump to spray water into aplurality of said vertical passagewaya'and means to move air throughsaid elongated passageway and discharge it into the lower end of thechamber over the bed, whereby said air will be washed and cooled andwill be causedto move through said chamber and discharge from thehead-end opening therefrom.- p 9. .An air conditioner for bedscomprising an insulated casing above the bed forming a chamber havingthe mattress as its bottom wall, said chamber having an opening at thepillow end, a second casing, means to move air from the room through thesecond casing and into the chamber adjacent the foot thereof and thencethrough said open ,ing, a spraying system including a pump and a well insaid second casing for forming a spray of water therein through whichsaidair is caused to move, a tank and means 'for removably supporting itin said second casing with its mouth dipping down to the water in thewell, whereby the water in said well is maintained at a fixed level. I

10. An air conditioner for beds comprising an insulated casing above thebed forming a chamf ported thereby above the bed forming a chamber bythe blower, and switch means within the chair: I

her and adjacent the sleeper for controlling the blower.

11. An air conditioner for beds comprising an insulated casing above thebed forming a chamber having the mattress as its bottom wall, saidchamber havmg an opening adjacent the head end of said mattress, asecond casing, means in said second casing including anelectrically-driven pump for forming a spray of water in said secondcasing, a blower-to move air from the room through said second casingand said spray and into said chamber and thence through said opening,and a thermostat within said chamber and adjacent the head of thesleeper for controlling operation of the pump.

12. An air conditioner for beds comprising a insulated casing above thebed forming a chamber having a mattress as its bottom wall, said chamberhaving a wide opening at the pillow end, a partition near the lower endof said chamber extending across from the top of the chamber to near thetop of the mattress, means to move air into said chamber between itsfoot-wall and the partition whereby it iscaused to travel under the sameimmediately above the mattress and throughout the width thereof and todischarge through said opening, and means to condition the air before itenters the chamber.

13. An air conditioner for beds comprising a conditioning member withmeans therein for conditioning air, including means for moving the movedfrom the conditioner member to cause it to form a continuous layer overthe mattress of the bed distinct from the air of the room, whereby theair of said layer will be caused to be continuously moving and changing.

14. An air conditioner for beds comprising an elongated high casing, aninsulated casing removably supported therebyabove the bed and formingover the bed a chamber havingthe-mattress as its bottom wall and thefirst named casing as a side wall, means in the first casing for movingand conditioning air, and an opening between the two casings so theconditioned air will be moved into said chamber.

15. An air-conditioner for beds comprising an insulated casing removablysupported above the bed and forming a chamber over the whole extent ofthe mattress with the mattress as a bottom wall thereoi,said casingbeing formed withawideopening at the pillow and extending substantiallyacross the width of the mattress, means to move air into said chamber atthe foot of said mattress and to direct it to cause it to travel alongsaid mattress in a layer and discharge through said opening, and meansto condition the air before it enters the chamber.

16. An air-conditioner for beds comprising an insulated casing removablysupported above the bed and forming a chamber over the whole extentoithe mattress with the mattress as a bottom wall thereof, said casingbeing formed with a wide opening at the pillow and extendingsubstantially across the width of the mattress, means to move air intosaid chamber at the foot thereof, means to distribute the air across thefoot and near the mattress to cause it to travel in a full width layeralong the length of the mattress and cham-- her to discharge throughsaid opening, and means to condition the air before it enters thechamber.

17. An air-conditioner for beds comprising a conditioner cabinet adapted-to be positioned along one side of a bed and having its wall adjacentthe bed of substantially the length of the mattress, an insulated casingsupported above the bed by said cabinet and forming with thecabinet as aside wall and the mattress as a bottom wall a chamber above andenclosing the mattress, said casing formed with a large opening at thehead end of the mattress opening directly into the room from thechamber, means to move air from the room through the cabinet and intothe chamber and back to the room through said opening, and means in thecabinet to condition the air before it enters the chamber.

18. An air-conditioner for beds comprising a donditioning member withmeans therein for conditioning air, a casing iorming a chamber exthechamber is displaced and caused to discharge through the opening intothe room.

19. An air-conditioner for beds comprising acabinet having a wallextending to a point a considerable distance above the surface of themattress, an insulated casing supported thereby and forming over thebed, a chamber having the mattress as its bottom wall and the side ofthe cabinet as aside wall, said casing having a large opening leadingfrom the chamber to the room, means in the cabinet for moving andconditioning air, and an opening between the two casings connected sothe conditioned air will be moved into said chamber and continuouslydisplace the air therein and cause it to discharge into the room throughsaid first-named opening.

20. An air-conditioner for beds comprising a conditioning member withmeans therein for conditioning air, means enclosing the bed and forminga chamber having the whole of the mat-- tress as a bottom wall thereofand separating said chamber above the mattress from the rest of theroom, there being two openings in'said enclosing means above the levelof the mattress, one connected with the conditioning member and theother leading into the air of the room, means to move air through theconditioning member subject to the air-conditioning means therein and todischarge the conditioned air through said connected opening into saidchamber, and means for directing the air so moved within the chamber toform a continuous layer of conditioned air over the mattress and causesaid layer to be continuously moving and changing as air is continuouslydischarged through the opening to the room therefrom.

21. An air-conditioner for beds comprising an insulated casing above thebed forming a chamber having the mattress as its bottom wall, saidchamber having two openings, 8. second casing connected with saidchamber through one of said openings, the other opening leading into theroom, means to move air from the room through the second casing and saidconnected opening and into the chamber and thence through said secondopening into the room, and'means for forming a spray 01' water withinthe second casing through which said air is caused to pass before itenters the chamber above the mattress, whereby the air in the chamberwill be washed and cooled.

, FRANK A, WHITELEY.

